thomaspedia_archives_of_sodorfandomcom-20200213-history
Flying Scotsman
Flying Scotsman is an LNER Class A1/A3 pacific. He holds the record for being the fastest steam engine to officially run at 100mph. In edition, he is the last of Gordon's brothers, and the cousin of Spencer, Mallard and Green Arrow. Flying Scotsman has been described as the world's most famous steam locomotive. Biography ''The Railway Series'' When Gordon was feeling depressed about the loss of all his brothers, the Fat Controller invited Flying Scotsman to the North Western Railway to cheer him up. Flying Scotsman got along well with all the engines on the Fat Controller's railway, all except for Henry, who was jealous of his two tenders. When 7101 failed with "The Limited", Flying Scotsman took the train for him. After his visit, Flying Scotsman left Sodor with the enthusiasts and returned to his own railway. (RWS; Enterprising Engines) Gordon later told the other engines that Flying Scotsman had told him about the Silver Jubilee. (RWS; Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines) ''Television Series'' Flying Scotsman once came to visit the North Western Railway, and was visiting Knapford Harbour when Gordon saw his two tenders sitting outside the station. (TVS; Tender Engines) Sometime later, Flying Scotsman was invited to take part in the Great Railway Show on the Mainland, which he told Gordon and Thomas about when he stopped at Vicarstown station to fetch his train. In the Great Railway Show, he participated in the Great Race, alongside his brother, Gordon, his cousin, Spencer, and Axel and Étienne. During the race, Flying Scotsman noticed that Gordon was overheating due to his safety valve not being fitted and tried to warn him about it, but Gordon, determined to beat him in the race, refused to listen to his warning. Flying Scotsman finished third in the race, losing to Spencer and Étienne. After the Great Railway Show ended, Flying Scotsman and Gordon both returned to the yard together, where he admitted to Gordon that, even if the race was a letdown, he was much more impressed with the Sudrian engines than he previously had been. (TVS; The Great Race) Personality and Traits Personality-wise, Flying Scotsman is similar to a vain celebrity; he is aware of his own fame and will boast about it, and is just as proud and pompous as his brother is. Because of this, his relationship with Gordon is somewhat strained on Gordon's side, as his constant boasting about how exciting the Mainland is irritates him. Flying Scotsman also likes to teasingly refer to Gordon as his "little brother", despite both engines being the exact same size physically. Flying Scotsman also seemed to have a low opinion on Sudrian engines, as when Thomas told him about the time he and the other famous engines of Sodor went to the Mainland, he sarcastically said that he had assumed no famous engines came from Sodor. His view on Sudrian engines, however, seemed to change after he saw Gordon's boiler explode during the race, and told him that the engines of Sodor were made of tougher metals than he had thought. Though his relationship with Gordon may not exactly be the best, Flying Scotsman cares for his brother and will become concerned if there is something wrong with him. This was shown when Gordon was beginning to overheat during the race, and he called out to him to stop, though Gordon refused to listen. Technical Details Real-life History Flying Scotsman was built in 1923 with the number 1472, as the third A1 Class Pacific, designed by Sir Nigel Gresley as the most powerful LNER Class at the time. In 1924 he was selected for British Empire Expedition. By now his number was 4472, and was named "Flying Scotsman" after the London to Edinburgh Train. He reduced the service time to 8 hours with his immense speed. In 1934 he became to first locomotive to officially reach 100 m/h (161 km/h). He was rebuilt into an A3 Pacific in 1947, looking different with his "superheat" systems and a new "banjo" dome. In 1948 (Nationalization) he was renumbered 60103, and was briefly repainted blue, then BR Green. He was fitted with various modifications by British Railways, such as the reveser switching sides, a double-chimney, and smoke deflectors. In 1962, it was announced that he would scrapped. A man by the name of Alan Pegler bought Flying Scotsman for preservation and was able to restore him to his original LNER condition as close as possible. Due to water refueling becoming redundant on BR, Pegler bought a second tender exclusively for water for Flying Scotsman in 1966. From then on, Flying Scotsman became a cultural icon. He went on tour in the United States from 1969 to 1973, modified to run on their railroad lines. A financial incident arose involving Pegler in debt, but the loco was saved by William McAlpine who bought the engine off Pegler. In 1988 he visited Australia, meeting many other famous locomotives, and even setting a new record: The longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive, which he accomplished on the Parkes to Broken Hill line in 1989, a distance of 679 km (422 mi). In 1996, Dr. Tony Marchington bought Flying Scotsman, and over three years he was extensively restored. However in 2003 Marchington was declared bankrupt (just like Pegler before him). Flying Scotsman was put on sale in 2004. Luckily, he was bought by the National Railway Museum in 2004 for their National Collection. He was to undergo a major restoration from 2006 to 2010, but this was delayed to 2015 due to technical faults which were discovered too late to correct immediately. He was fortunately completed in January 2016, and begin test runs straight after, which were successful. He began taking rail tours around the UK, which attracted a large amount of people worldwide. He continues to do these rail tours as of July 2016. Livery In the television series, Flying Scotsman was painted apple green with white lining on his tenders. The initials of the LNER and his number were painted on the sides of his tenders in yellow and red lettering. When he came back in full CGI, Flying Scotsman was painted a darker shade of green with white and black lining, the sides of his running board are painted red, and he carries his number on his cab, despite the number also being painted on his water tender too. His nameplate is placed on his middle wheel arch, and he also received smoke deflectors, which could slide back and forth. Trivia * Flying Scotsman was originally intended to have a larger role in Tender Engines; however the modelling crew could not afford to build the main engine. * In the television series, Flying Scotsman shares his whistle sound with Neville. This same whistle sound was previously used for Oliver in the third season. * Both the ERTL and Hornby representations of Flying Scotsman do not include his water tender. To add to that, his ERTL one is simply a repaint of Gordon. Category:National Railway Museum Category:Great Railway Show engines Category:Visiting engines Category:Steam engines Category:Tender engines Category:Real engines Category:Other railways Category:4-6-2 Category:Awdry-created characters